SamTrans wins top award for outstanding transit system in the country

SamTrans will receive the Outstanding Public Transportation System Achievement award from American Public Transportation Association (APTA) this fall in Anaheim.

The award honors transit agencies that demonstrate superior achievement in efficiency and effectiveness. 

“It is no surprise to me that SamTrans is receiving this nationwide award as the agency from top to bottom employs the foremost, innovative and dedicated transportation experts and workers of any agency in the United States in my opinion,” said SamTrans Director, Metropolitan Transportation Commission Legislation Committee Chair and San Mateo County Board of Supervisors Vice President David Canepa. “We’ve proven to be incredibly resilient as our ridership numbers continue to climb post pandemic which shows how loyal our riders are and how SamTrans continue to meets their needs.”

SamTrans entered the competition for the award this year to help highlight several of its recent achievements, including: 

• Some of the nation’s best ridership recovery numbers following the Covid lockdown 
• The initiation of the agency’s transition to a 100% zero-emission fleet 
• Systemwide updates to improve routes, schedules and services as part of the Reimagine SamTrans initiative 

“We’re so honored to have been chosen by the APTA selection committee for this nationwide recognition of excellence,” said SamTrans General Manager/CEO April Chan. “We won this award because of the exceptional work performed at every level of our agency, department by department, and our commitment to evolving with the needs of our riders.” 

The award is based on several key factors of operation, including safety, customer service, financial management, sustainability, and DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion). It is given to four different transit agencies each year, broken down by annual ridership numbers. With more than 10 million passenger trips in the past fiscal year, SamTrans won the award for an agency with between 3 million and 15 million annual rides. 

“This is your peers recognizing that you are the best of the best,” said SamTrans Board Chair Marina Fraser. “It’s like the Oscar for Best Picture in the transit world, and truly reflects all of the hard work being done by SamTrans.” 

Representatives from SamTrans will attend the APTA TRANSform Conference in Anaheim to accept the award.

SamTrans expects ridership rates to surpass pre-pandemic levels in the coming months as it enters the fourth and final phase of the Reimagine SamTrans initiative. Data from May 2024 show fixed route ridership hit 98.2% of May 2019 levels, well above regional and national recovery trends. 

The initiative was developed during the early days of the pandemic to adapt the transit network to better meet the evolving needs of the community. Implementation began in summer 2022 after more than two years of data gathering, analysis, and robust public engagement. It has been rolled out in multiple phases, each focusing on specific improvements to routes, schedules, and services.